1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of prefabricated building construction, and particularly to the field of prefabricated modules which are used to build homes and/or office buildings. In recent years there has been an increasing number of homes built of prefabricated units which are shipped to the sites of the home or office to be erected, and simply placed into position or, in some instances joined with additional sections to form the building. Usually these are completely finished except for connection to plumbing, etc., and perhaps some decorative additions. The instant invention pertains to modules of this type which are designed to be more permanently installed than the typical truly trailerable vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many homes comprise units which are prefabricated, and then transported to sites where they are more less permanently emplaced. Some involve several sections, usually two, which can be joined to form a larger home or office. Many of these units experience some difficulty in transport due to the way they are constructed. They are also designed solely to be individually supported at ground level as a trailer type home may be.
The units are designed to provide easy transport and erection, and this results in a preference for minimum weight in transport, and minimum erection loads on site. Often the span strength of floors, roofs, etc. is minimal. Further the tendency has been to employ standard building concepts in which walls rest on floor plates or beams, and roofs in turn are supported on side plates above the side walls. Such homes often require steel beams or like lower supports, either for trucking or ensuring satisfactory support in place, because the flooring support units are insufficient without further structural assistance.
The known units are also designed in general so as to be fully supported throughout their length, and often their width, by full wall construction. Some may employ simple spaced block columns or the like supports. These most likely will be those in which additional beams, or the like supports, are applied to the building structure, per se. For example, where steel beams have been placed below the building module for transport purposes, these can be also used at a site, when they are not removed, as part of the support for the building. In this case spaced columns of cement blocks can be placed to support the building adjacent the ground.
None of these buildings however are designed for in place bridging of substantial distances. Prefabricated modules are also not in general designed to be stacked one over the other such as in the making of a two-story home. Nor are modules provided which can be mounted on a lower module and projected a substantial distance beyond the side or end of the lower unit, and wherein the projecting section can be supported solely at its outer end.
Known design principles have also limited the ability to increase the energy efficiency of these building modules. Limited thickness, for example, of the walls, roofs and floors have restricted the amount of insulation which can be employed as well as the stiffness or strength that can be provided.